The Hunted Girl
Page 14
“I’m full of them, aren’t I?”
“Yeah. You’re the criminal mastermind of Suffolk County.”
“So tell me, Ryle. What’s my plan?”
“You’re going to get Mrs. Meadows to kill her husband.”
That genuinely surprised him. He thought no one would ever know that.
“Meadows shot her.”
“No he didn’t. You don’t tell me the truth, Otto, and we don’t have a deal. The next lie and I walk out of here.”
“Go on.”
“I don’t know how you convinced or more likely scared Mrs. Meadows to do it.”
Otto shrugged. “The reason you don’t know, Ryle, is that you’re weak. Talk to your father. He’d know. I told her I’d kill her sister and I was very explicit about what would happen to her. I told her she had two days.”
“What happened?”
“At the end I didn’t trust her. Even if she killed him, she could run to the cops. No loose ends. That’s every successful criminal’s motto, right?”
“So you decided to kill her as well.”
“Sure.”
“You had set the time she’d do this and that’s when you went to the house.”
“I’ll give it to you, Ryle. You have thought this through pretty well.”
“I’ve learned to think like a killer.”
“I bet you have.”
“So you go there. Tell me what happened.”
“Why? You’re doing quite well.”
I nodded.
“All right. You’re there. She has a weapon and shoots him. You have a weapon and you shoot her. And suddenly you realize. Gun shot residue. The cops won’t find any on Meadows’ hand and they’ll get suspicious.”
“Give yourself a gold star, Ryle.”
“So you put the weapon in Meadows’ hand. He’s not going to resist. He’s dead on the ground where his wife shot him. You fire this third shot. Toward a fireplace.”
“You are good. I figured it would be hard to spot there.”
“And then, Otto, we come to the moment that most interests me.”
“The bratty kid.”
“Indeed.”
“I didn’t know she was there. She saw me.”
“You were wearing a mask.”
“She saw my clothes. She could describe me. I’m overweight. I had my favorite shoes on. They’re very distinctive. I didn’t know if the kid had seen them. But there’s no use taking a chance. I would’ve gone upstairs and shot her but the sirens came. I ran knowing I’d have to get her eventually.”
“So you hired Whitey to kill her. And he hired someone to come with him to my house. We got that guy.”
“Where is he?”
“Loose ends again, huh? You needn’t worry. His talking days are over.”
“You ever find Whitey?” he asked me.
“Whitey came to kill her,” I said.
“Yes. I asked if you found him.”
“Let me tell you a story about Whitey, Otto. The man I work with is named Ari. He was a specialist in the most elite unit of the Israel Defense Forces. He tracked down terrorists. When he found them, he didn’t offer them an education in good behavior. He got information from them through polite conversation. And then he killed them.”
“So?”
“So he’s very observant. He and I can both look at the same person and Ari can see more than I can. He can tell me about what the person wore, how the person moved.”
“So give him a medal.”
“I should, now that you mention it.” I took a deep breath.
“You see, Otto, Ari described Whitey to me in great detail. He said Whitey was overweight and had distinctive shoes.”
“I’m not talking.”
“You tried to kill a little girl I have come to consider part of my family, Otto. If I could get away with it I’d kill you right now.”
He tried to change the subject.
“Hey, Ryle. I cooperated. It’s your turn. Speak to someone like you did with Benedict. Get me to a better prison.”
“You’re almost right, Otto. I am going to speak with someone. And you will be going to a prison that’s different than the one they were planning for you. Only it won’t be a better prison. It will be a prison where my father has friends. Friends who owe him big favors.”
“You can’t do that. It’s murder.”
I shrugged. “Maybe you’ll be lucky and it will be fast and painless. Though that’s not what my father is going to tell them to do.”
“I’m going to tell the cops about this.”
“I’m sure they will be sympathetic.”
“I should have gone and killed that girl that night. Then none of this would have happened.”
“She’s going to live and you’re not, Otto. At the moment you’re dying, I want you to remember that girl’s face. She’s out there free and happy and you are starting your tour of Hell.”
I got up and walked out of the room.
I checked my watch.
My father had asked all of us to go to his house.
I had to rush to the Congressman’s office first.
There was still some work to do.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
“You’re sure, Danny?”
The Congressman was looking out for me, and I appreciated it.
“I’m sure.”
“Stay right here. I’m going to go to the other room, speak with Janet, and make the calls.”
He was gone longer than I expected, and it bothered me.
My stomach felt tight.
He was smiling when he came back.
“If you want it and you do all that you say, it’s a done deal.”
“Thanks, Congressman.”
“I’m glad to do it, Danny. I owe you.”
“I don’t keep a ledger with my friends.”
“A wise choice.”
I said hi to Janet, walked out, and drove to Sag Harbor.
Everyone was already at my father’s house.
Alden was running around directing people toward the food on the table.
I brought Ari and Betsy up to date about the bank robbery.
We all talked and ate.
I wasn’t sure if Hannah would be there. She was. Then I wasn’t sure if she’d talk to me.
I stared at her. I had a strange feeling. I had the sense that she provided comfort, as though I were a thought in her mind and she gave the thought warmth and shelter.
My father took me off to one side.
“Did it work out with Otto?”
“Perfectly. I have the whole story. I’m going to tell Flanagan and they will charge him with murder.”
“Murray will be happy.”
I looked at my father.
“He’ll be happy his client is being charged with murder?”
“Murray has a fierce belief in justice, Danny. That’s what I originally helped him with.”
“I don’t want to know,” I said.
When everyone was standing around the table, I hit the side of a glass with a spoon.
“Thank you,” I said. “First of all, you will be pleased. Ari, Betsy, and I are in the clear about any kidnapping charges. The authorities have talked to Jennifer, and the Governor himself called to say that after we had saved everyone from having to deal with a giant bank robbery that would have made all law enforcement seem like fools, no one is going after us. The Governor said he already had a pardon ready in case the D.A. didn’t go along, but he did.”
There were cheers.
“I’d like to thank my father for inviting us here. I asked him to do so in anticipation of an announcement, but I wasn’t sure it would happen. I’ve just sorted out the details, and it will happen. So...I have an announcement.”
They all looked at me.
“I have spoken with Congressman Lucey who spoke with all the authorities. I am going to adopt Jennifer Meadows.”
“What about her aunt?” Hannah asked.
&n
bsp; “I spoke with her aunt yesterday. We agreed that Jennifer would be better off staying on Long Island and being with her friends and staying in the school she loves.”
Hannah still looked puzzled.
“I mentioned to her aunt that I very much appreciated the sacrifice the aunt was making and thought she deserved some compensation for her enormous generosity.”
“You paid her off?” Hannah asked.
“I gave her a donation to ease the grief of not having her niece around. I also mentioned the grief that might come her way if she continued to seek to adopt Jennifer. Various drug agencies came up in the conversation.”
Betsy spoke up. “I’m glad you were tough with her, Danny. Except there’s still that one problem. You’re single.”
“As I said, the Congressman is very persuasive with the authorities that control such matters.”
“You mean he can cut off their funding.”
“I’m sure he would never do that.”
No one believed me.
We went back to eating and talking.
I saw Hannah moving toward the door. I walked over to her.
She looked up.
“I’m so glad for Jennifer, Danny. That was really kind of you. Thank goodness you could keep her away from her aunt.”
“You’re going home now?”
“Later tonight. I’m just going to pack now.”
“Hannah, could I ask you a question?”
“Sure. If you’re asking if I will be back, yes I will.”
I stared at her.
“Hannah, we’ve only known each other a short while, but time seemed stretched by the unusual circumstances in which we found ourselves.”
She leaned her face to one side.
I smiled at her.
“Hannah, will you marry me?”
THE END
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lawrence J. Epstein served as an Advisor for two members of the United States Congress and two additional Congressional candidates. He is also a former English professor and the author of more than twenty books.
Please sign up for his mailing list to be among the first to know when his next Danny Ryle novel will be published: http://www.lawrencejepstein.com/list.
The Dead Don’t Talk is the first book in The Danny Ryle Mysteries series: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B07LF13Y3G.
A Darker Shade of Blood is the second book in the series:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PBHCD6G.
The Starry Night of Death is the third book in the series:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RJ8C5TN.
See his list of books on his Amazon Author Central Page:
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